Persuade, Persuade, Persuade

Wrigley

The Chewing Gum Action Group (CGAG) consists of a host of interested bodies including DEFRA, Keep Britain Tidy, Local Government Partners, Food and Drink Federation and the chewing gum industry. In 2005 they invited all their agencies to pitch ideas for a campaign to reduce gum littering in the UK.

For Devon based ad agency, Bray Leino, a win would further cement the client relationship, as well as showcase their ability to a whole range of potential new clients.

Human Zoo ran a workshop to explore insights into human behaviour in order to develop creative work, allowing them to stand out from all the other creative work being pitched.

(From the Chewing Gum Action Group website): “The first CGAG campaign in 2006 ran across 15 local authorities and was founded on the insight that we don’t like being told off or criticised, and if we are then we tend to do precisely the opposite of what is being asked of us. Therefore, the advertising conveyed a sense of gratitude to the reader and ‘thanked’ them for binning their gum.”

Bray Leino were the only agency to present creative work that did not criticise the public (other agencies ran routes with headlines including ‘Don’t Be A Masticator’). Their strategically different approach guaranteed they would be shortlisted to the final 3 .

Consumer research demonstrated that their approach was most persuasive.

RESULTS

The 2005 pilot achieved an 80% gum littering reduction in Preston.

The 2006 national rollout produced the following results: 71% said the posters were appealing 74% said the adverts made them think about the effect of dropping gum 63% said adverts made them want to change their behavior 81% of gum-droppers recognised that the adverts were aimed at them An average reduction of gum littering by 38%, with a 72% reduction in one area.